How Dungeons & Dragons Created Its Biggest Rival (& How One D&D Could Repeat History)

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has seen its fair share of controversy throughout its long and storied history.Back in the 1980s, there was the famed in which many feared that promoted demonic worship and that the tabletop game was actually a kind of occult tool. Although nowhere near bizarre and panic-inducing now, controversy still exists around the TTRPG, specifically with Wizards of the Coast and its many disliked decisions of late.

This isn't the only period of time in which Wizards of the Coast made decisions that much of the fan base weren't fond of. After the revised third edition of, the company looked at making the now infamous fourth edition. Because of the choices made for this new edition, 's biggest rival in the fantasy TTRPG space was born, and it was entirely of Wizards of the Coast's own making.

Wizards of the Coast finally unveils the cover for Dungeons & Dragon's next Monster Manual and it's littered with iconic enemies creatures.

has existed as a strong alternative to for a while now, sharing a similar world and familiar races. It even has some hold in the video game space with the two CRPG titles by Owlcat Games and many consider it to be 's greatest competitor. Funnily enough, it only exists because of concerns about 's fourth edition prior to its launch, instead offering an experience closer to the revised third edition, leading 1e to be unofficially referred to as 3.75e.

is published by Paizo, but the publishing company used to work with Wizards of the Coast on magazines until the contract was terminated in 2007. In that same year, Wizards announced the fourth edition of. Many at Paizo were concerned about the more restrictive game license that came with the new edition, so instead of continuing to support, was made by modifying 3.5e and its Open Game License.

Although similar, is set in a different world to called Golarion.

Many hated the fourth edition of It is ill-regarded by the community to this day, especially since it followed the wildly loved 3.5e that many